So, just because they are surrounded by some sugar and flour, should that make them a dessert? I mean they have YOGURT in them, and EVERYONE knows that’s a breakfast food.

I mean really.

But you COULD eat them as a dessert.

If you were, you know, uptight or something.

Anyway, I got this recipe from My Baking Heart, and didn’t change much, except to use real sugar and not Splenda , which I don’t use.

INGREDIENTS:

For the Crust:

1 1/2 c flour

a generous 1/4 c sugar (mounded)

pinch of salt

12 tbsp of cold butter, cubed

For the Filling:

2 lg eggs

1/2 c sugar

1/2 c plain Greek yogurt

1/2 tsp almond extract

1/2 c + 2 tbsp flour

2 c blueberries

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350° and grease a 8 x 8 baking dish.

Whisk together the dry ingredients for the crust, then cut in the butter until a crumbly consistency.

Reserve 1 1/2 c of the resultant mixture for the topping.

Press the remaining into the bottom of your baking dish evenly.

Whisk the eggs until mixed, then add the sugar and yogurt and extract. Mix well.

Add the flour and stir until incorporated.

Fold in the blueberries carefully.

Pour into the crust, smoothing it evenly.

Sprinkle the topping over that.

Bake for 45-50 minutes. Top should be a golden brown.

Cool, and cut out in squares.

SERVES: 9-12 depending on how much of a glutton you are.

NOTES: I think this recipe would work well with other fruit. I’m thinking bananas, peaches for sure. Strawberries and other berries in general should be fine as well. Let me know if you try something else and how it turned out.

Like this:

It was nice and bright and citrusy, and at the same time, smooth as silk.

It is a perfect pie in the summer.

Or in the winter.

Or, well, you get my point.

And that Key lime thing? Forget buying those tiny little thing and squeezing a kazillion of them to get enough juice. Taste-testing has proved that nobody can tell the different. So use regular limes and the work is virtually nil.

This recipe came from Cook’s Illustrated, one of my bibles, and it was simply perfect.

Like this:

As more of us get more concerned about the quality of our food, simple things that we have taken for granted can become foods we worry about. One of them is mayonnaise.

A lot of folks are leery of genetically modified foods, and you can find lists of companies that use such things in their food products. I was distressed to find that my favorite mayonnaise is on the list as being one of those companies.

Now, I’m not here to pitch for how you should eat, but really homemade mayo is something special. At least for some things, might you consider using it instead of what can live on a shelf unrefrigerated until opened? (I’m always suspicious that the seal isn’t good).

Making mayonnaise is simple, and once you know how, you can abandon the standard recipe and do it by sight. And better yet, you can add so many things that will give your food a real kick. I’m cutting and pasting from a NYTimes article that lists some possible alternatives.

As I said, the basic recipe is pretty much the same everywhere.

The only difference is whether you use a full egg or only the yolk. I use the latter.

So indulge yourself and your family and make some of the real stuff. Either a food processor or a blender will do the job. You can do it by hand, but it’s a lot of very hard whisking and unless you are a professional, your arm probably can’t last.

INGREDIENTS:

1 lg egg yolk at room temperature

2 tsp lemon juice (real please from an actual lemon–this works out to about half of a large lemon, give or take.)

1 tsp Dijon mustard (again, like the lemon juice, you are looking to approximate. You want this to be easy)

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cold water

3/4 c oil (canola or safflower–you want something that is basic without flavors)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Place the egg, lemon, mustard, salt and water into your blender or processor and whir up until well mixed and a bit frothy.

With the motor running, pour in a slow steady stream, the oil. Watch the magic happen as it emulsifies into a thick gorgeous smooth creation.

SERVES: 1 cup

NOTES: Once you have the basic recipe down, you can vary it with the following:

GARLIC AIOLI: Finely chop 2 garlic cloves and mash with a pinch of salt until it forms a paste; mix with egg yolk before adding oil. Substitute extra virgin olive oil for at least half of the neutral oil.

SMOKY CHILE BACON MAYO: Fry 3 strips of bacon until crisp; chop and set aside. Pour the fat from the pan into a heatproof liquid measuring cup and add enough oil to make 3/4 cup total. Make mayonnaise, omitting mustard and using bacon fat-oil mixture. Stir in chopped bacon and 1/4 teaspoon hot smoked paprika at the end.

Like this:

There seems little honor among recipe collectors, especially those that post on their own blog. I got this recipe from a place called Favorite Family Recipes, who claimed they got it from Top Secret Recipes, but “modified” it. The exact same recipe was other sites with no mention of where they got it. I’m not sure where it comes from, but it seems to be fairly common.

In any event, I never eat at Outback, so I sure didn’t create it.

But it is good. I did modify it somewhat mostly because the instructions were less than instructive if you get my drift. Basically, if you get the ingredients together fairly right, it will all turn out pretty darn good.

INGREDIENTS:

4 half chicken breasts, pounded just enough to even out the thickness

2 c sliced mushrooms

canola oil for frying (about 2 tbsp)

8 slices bacon, cooked and drained on paper towelling

1 c shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 c shredded cheddar cheese

1/3 c chopped parsley

salt and pepper

MARINADE FOR CHICKEN:

1/2 c honey

1 c mayonnaise

1/3 c Dijon mustard

Juice of 1/2 lemon

INSTRUCTIONS:

Mix the marinade up and whisk until smooth. Reserve about 1/3 of a cup and refrigerate that. Place the chicken in a bowl, pour remaining marinade over, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a couple of hours.

Cook up your bacon and set aside.

Saute the mushrooms in a bit of canola oil until they are done, and set this aside.

Using an oven proof saute pan (if you have one. Otherwise you will switch from the pan to a baking dish for the final phase), use remaining Canola oil and bring to a shimmer. Salt and pepper the chicken and remove to the saute pan and brown on both sides. Continue cooking on lowered heat for about 10 additional minutes, or until just barely done.

Brush the chicken with the reserved honey mayonnaise (not the marinade–it is contaminated!). Remove to a baking dish if using one, place 1/4 of mushrooms on each breast. Then top with 2 slices of bacon each. Divide the cheese similarly between the four.

Place in a 375° pre-heated oven for about 10 minutes, or until cheese has melted.

SERVES: 4

NOTES: You can take any reserved marinade and warm and then serve on the side at the table, but frankly, I don’t think it’s necessary.

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Just a peek inside my cookbook!. All recipes have been vetted and are on my regular menu list. Copy any you'd like to try. If you post it, please link back here. Comment freely, that's what cooking is all about.

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